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Assessing Your Needs

Now that you know the basics of how to use AJAX, deciding whether to use it
on a project will certainly be the next step. The most important thing to keep
in mind is that you can't use the Back button when you're not
refreshing the page. Focus on smaller sections of your project that could
benefit from using this type of interaction. For instance, you could build a
form that queries a script every time a user enters an input field, or even
types a letter in order to provide real-time validation. You could build a
drag-and-drop page that sends data to a script on the release of an item and
saves the state of the page to a database. The reasons for using AJAX definitely
exist and are beneficial not only to the development experience but to users; it
all depends on the situation and execution.

There are also ways to work around the issues with the Back button, such as
with Google Gmail, which now provides an undo for steps that you make without
refreshing the page. Many more creative examples are sure to surface, which will
benefit users by providing developers with ways to create unique, real-time
experiences.